“Taken, Blessed, Broken, Given”: Lukan Table Practices in the Faith Formation of Christian Communities

• Published in: Religions (Basel, Switzerland ) Vol. 15; no. 8; p. 997
• Main Author: Gaines, Timothy R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-08-2024
• Subjects: Bread; Christianity; disgust; Eucharist; Food; liturgy; Lord’s Supper; Luke–Acts; Meals; psychology
• ISSN: 2077-1444
• DOI: 10.3390/rel15080997

Luke’s Eucharistic pattern not only serves as a Christological marker, but formative pattern for Christian faith communities. In this article, I appeal to Luke’s Eucharistic pattern to advance the claim that hospitable Eucharistic table practices are not only consistent with Luke’s Christology but also form faith that is capable of confronting and dismantling psychological disgust responses to outsiders. This motif is expanded in Luke–Acts, where acts of table fellowship become the places where socio-moral barriers are transgressed, signaling the good news of the gospel, especially for Gentiles. Drawing from biblical scholarship as well as recent work in psychology, I will advance the claim that hospitable Eucharistic practices not only expose disgust psychology in the faith formation of persons but also act as a potential balm, forming persons according to the good news proclaimed in Luke–Acts.